The identities shaped by online games -- World of Warcraft Dissertation

The identities shaped by online games -- world of Warcraft - Dissertation ExampleThe emergence of online identities is not a terminatedly new ideal. People have been creating everyday identities with the purpose of achieving goals throughout human existence (Wallen 1998, p. 52). However, the personality of the online persona is somewhat unique in that it is through with(p) with the intention of representing an otherness through character and skills that would not be possible in the real world. Exploring the nature of this creation provides for a greater understanding of the concept of identicalness. Watslawik and Born (2007, p. 2) state that ego psychoanalytical guess places the respective(prenominal) in spite of appearance a more than or less nurturing social context, as contrast with the more confrontive view of classical theory wherein the exclusive is seen more as contesting society. The nature of human interaction, gibe to Eriksons theory, is in finding communities in which nurture is the primary benefit. While an individual seeks a society in which shared values and beliefs are experienced, or in the case of game play, shared goals, lastly it is the sense of nurture that is built that will provide the attraction to a community (Watslawik and Born 2007). The undermentioned literature review will focus on the identity as it is positioned in an online environment as a created and semi-controlled entity. This will be discussed through the created and controlled aspect, as well as how that control is not complete as the social dynamic and the real life characteristics begin to come through to the online identity. Avatar as it Becomes Part of the Community Individual and the Avatar The nature of identity is the result of a tension amid conformity and individuality. In seeking to find an identity, the individual must find a position surrounded by these two oppositional forces in order to find both acceptance and individuation. This phenomenon cr eates an internal conflict within which the individual seeks to find a sense of self and the acceptance of self by the community (Jackson 1984, p. 203). Through pursuit group norms, the individual seeks to find positive interaction within the context of group identification and personal differentiation. The sense of self is defined through social identities that are evolved through group behaviours and attitudes, with the individual identity evolving through perceptions and evaluations of social situations (Korostelina 2007, p. 36). Human existence has been framed through the formation of identity within the concept of race. According to Smedley (1998), the concept of race as an identifying factor has only emerged since the 17th century. Before that time burnish and kinship were the ways in which people were grouped. Where in the past, occupation and city of origin identified an individual in a ethnic way, the idea of physical differences having the power to inform the identity is relatively new. In the game of World of Warcraft, actual species differences are developed in which race becomes a very big aspect of the identity of the character (Hammer and Kellner 2009, p. 597). In choosing a race, the player makes the initial step towards creating an association within the game. However,